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(No ModeL) G. E. WILSON. HOUSE LETTER B0X'.

No. 511,480. Patented Deo. 26, 1893.

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UNITED STATES GEORGE E. VILSON, OF STILLVATER, TO lfb-O. FOGLE,

PATENT OFFICE.,

MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALE OF SAME PLACE.

HOUSE LETTER-Box.

SPECIFICATION formingpartof Letters Patent No. 511,480, dated December 26, 1893.

Application tiled April 8, 1893.

To @ZZ whom zt may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. YVILSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stillwater, in the county of iVashington and State 5 of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in House Letter-Boxes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Figurel is avert-ical section of a portion of a door, and of my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a face view of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a slightly modified box, in which an electrical bell is used.

In the drawings A, represents a part of a door of the sort to which it is desired to apply my invention. An aperture is formed through it as is indicated at a, of such dimensions as will permit the passage of letters, pazo pers, and similar articles which are transported by mail. This aperture communicates with a slot a', at the upper edge formed for a purpose to be described. The aperture can be tightly closed upon the outer face of the z5 door by the following devices:

Z), represents a frame piece having vertical and horizontal flange plates adapted to provide a tight fitting at the edges of the aperture a, and having extensions of suitable 3o number and arrangement for receiving screws or bolts as at l1. In the frame thus provided there is mounted a part which serves the purposes of a movable door for the passage a, and also for name plate. lt is indicated as a 35 whole by O, it having the inner plate or fiange c, adapted to lit behind the flanges or beads bien the frame plate, and having the outward projecting plate c', upon which are placed letters or characters to indicate the owner or 4o occupant of the premises. This door C, is provided with an upwardly projecting arm D, for a purpose to be set forth.

Upon the inner side of the door there is a box or receptacle E, preferably having top, 45 bottom, side and back walls with suitable flanges or ears for securingit to the door. it

is placed so as to cover the passage way a, and so that any articles passing through the latter will be received immediately in the box.

5o Morefor less of the bottom is movable, it pref- Serial No, 469.598. (No modell) erably being provided with a hinged door e, having a catch or latch at e.

W'ith the parts above described l combine a bell or gong which can be utilized both as a door-bell in the ordinary way, and as an alarm 5 5 to indicate that the closing device C, has been opened. This bell or gong may be of any suitable construction. The one illustrated has the sounding cup or dome f, the center stud, f', adapted to be secured directly to the wall of the mail box E, as by passing a screw through the latter and through the stud and binding it with a nut at f3; or, the stud, f', may be permanently fastened to the mail box and the bell cup may be fastened against a shoulder at its outer end. The center stud f', also supports the tongue arm f1L by a pivotf'f. The striker knob is at one end of this part, and the other end is connected with the pull bar G, byalink H. The bar G, extends inward from the outside of the door through the above described slot a', across the mail box E, and through a slot g, in the latter. It has a handle of any preferred sort at G and is fulcrumed at g', upon the lower edge of the aperture to the casing frame, there being a shoulder or lug at g3, bearing against the outside of the latter. It will be seen that when the bar G is rocked from the outside of the door it and the link H, will be thrown into the position indicated bythe dotted lines and in doing so the tonguebar fA1 will be moved in such way as to strike the bell dome and cause the ringing of the latter. A spring l, normally tends to hold the inner end ot the arm G, down, and a spring J, tends to hold the lower end of the tongue-bar outward. The arm D, of the closing device O, projects inward to the lines behind the line of the pivot at O', and prefl erably to points somewhat above that pivot, and normally lies in Contact with the lower edge of the bar G. \Vhen the door closing device O, is moved inward around its pivot O', the bar D, is moved upward and lifts with it the pull-arm G, and a slight motion, only, of this sort is necessary to cause the ringing of the bell. The arm D, however, is so situated as not to interfere at all with the ringing of the bell, when desired, by means of a ICO handle at G. Thus, whenever the name plate or closing device C, is moved by a proper persomas bya mail-carrier depositing letters in box E, it will be instantly announced- The device shown in Fig. 3 is but slightlyd'iierent from that shown in Fig. l. Instead of mounting a gong or bell upon the rear plate of the box, to be struck by pulling upon the handle, I use an electric bell M' which may be located in some other part of the house. An electric generator is shown conveniently at N, and is connected by wires with the electric magnet in the bell M, and the two contacts L, L in the letter box.. One contact is mounted on, and insulated from, the end of a. lever K,.piv oted. at lo and having a push buttonK. It` willbe readily seen that when the leveris lifted, either by means of the push button K, or by the lever D on the swinging plate C, the electric circuit is closed thereby causing the bellto ring.

All of the parts which have been described are initially manufactured as parts of one complete device ready for sale and application tothe door. While I have herein shown and described the part.A, as beingpart of an ordinary door, and prefer to apply my device thereto, yet I donot wish to be limited to placingit in such location, asvunder. some circumstances I propose to secure it toa wall or other stationary support; and, too, with respect to the parts themselves, there can be moreor. less` varia,- tion without departing from the essential featuresof, the invention.

Iam aware of` the fact that use has` been heretofore made of a bell or sounder in connection with a money drawer, andwith other receptacles for various purposes. But I believe myself to bethe rst to have devised a mechanism by which can be accomplished all of the endsthat can be reached with-the present. one, particularly a sounding bell or gong for amailbox, having means which can be actuated forl sounding it either when the closingdevice or lid. for the box is opened, or act.- uated independently thereof, so that the same bell or gong can be utilized for either of several'purposes.

The passage through the door or wall for the letters to the box` E, can be varied in shape and dimensions, as itwill be seen that the essential feature lies` in having an opening into the letter box itself which shall be-controlled by"' the closing lid or door as. at C, irrespectively of the particular form of the passage.

Lam aware thatcombined letter boxes and door bells have been heretofore made or proposed, in which the ringing of the bell was accomplished by lifting or swinging the closing plate for theletterpassage, and that also in one case, a supplemental ringing device was added, whereby the bell could be rung without moving the said closing plate. I do not claim broadly such a construction as of my invention.

In my device, the parts are few and the mechanism simple. The bellsounder is operated by a bar which extends to the front' earlier device, two independent. bell sou-nding mechanisms had tobe.employedthereby increasing the number of parts,td'etracting from the simplicityof themechanism, and adding very materially toits cost.

I believe that I am the first torba-ve invented a combined` letter box and door bell,in which a bell may. be, sounded by as, single mechanism adapted' to be operated either by the hand, or-by the plate which-closes'fthe-letter passage.

l.l Ina combined letter box andA door bell, the `combination with the door'havinga-letter passage, and the letter boxsecured'tothe-inner side thereof opposite the-saidy letter passage, of the bell, the bell sounder, theinwardly swinging closing plate for the letter4 passage, the single means extendingk froml the bell sounder to'points near the outer surface of f the door for operating saidsoundenand loosely connected tothe saidv closingplate, and a handle or equivalent connected: with; said means-whereby it-.can-be operated'by thehand directly or by thevsaid'closing;plate,substan tially as set forth.

2. In al combined letter-box and'doorf bell, the combination withthe door havingga'letter passage, and the letter box secured to the-innerv side thereof opposite the said letter passage, of the bell, the bell sounder,the single operating bar, located inside said letter box thel closing device-for thelettcr passage oonnected with said bar, and a handle connected to said bar, and extending to thesurfaceof the door whereby the vsaid bar cank beoperated eitherv by said closing device or by saidy handle independently of theclosingidevicasubstantially as set for-th.,

3. The combination withfthe letter boxhaving a receiving opening, and theinwardly swinging closing plateftherefor havinggan upwardly extending arm, of the,` bell, ythe bell sounder, and anindependently operable bar, located within the top andbottom.wallsof` the letter boxv engagingwithA said arm and movable thereby, substantially asset forth.

4. rlhe combination with the letter box, hav- IOO ing a receiving opening, of the closing plate therefor having an inwardly swinging arm integral therewith, a bell, a bell sounder, and a bar extending to points adjacent the outer surface of the door and loosely connected with said plate, whereby it can be operated by the plate or independently thereof, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with the door havinga letter passage, and a letter box secured to the door in the rear thereof and opposite the letter passage, of a bell, a bell sounding mechanism, a closing plate for said letter passage pivoted to the door, and a lever for causing the bell sounding mechanism to operate, loosely engaging with said closing plate whereby it is operated thereby, and extending to the front surface of the door whereby it can be operated independently of the said closing device, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with the door having a cured to said door in the rear thereof and opposite said aperture, of a closing plate for said aperture, a lever pivoted to said door and loosely engaging with said closing device and having a portion extended to the surface of the door whereby said lever may be moved by said closing device or independently thereof, a stationary contact, a contact mounted on said lever, an electric bell, and an electric circuit including said contacts and said bell and adapted to be closed by the movement of said lever, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

GEORGE E. WILSON. Vitnesses:

E. D. BUFFINGTON, W. E. FoGLE. 

